Posted on 01/19/2019 5:26:56 PM PST by jazusamo
He’ll Have to Go Jim Reeves
Country music isn't my favorite category, but that was the first thing that came to mind.
Here's a version growled out by Johnny Cash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mynzbmrtp9I
That’s a spectacular recording. Iirc, even Nine Inch Nails, the original recording artists, said the Johnny Cash version was IT.
June Carter wrote “Ring of Fire.” I would choose something Johnny wrote, such as “How High’s the Water, Mama?” or “Man in Black.”
Nothing by Garth Brooks belongs on this list.
ping
Some I agree with and some choices seem really odd.
I agree with number 1. Also agree that Glen Campbell was great but another song should have been chosen. Roy Acuff and Jimmie Rogers also had great ones.
Marty Robbins had several which were better than most of those.
My personal favorite is “Life’s Railway To Heaven” by Johnny Cash.
Dolly Parton... Coat of Many Colors, I Will Always Love You
Charlie Rich... Behind Closed Doors
Amarillo By Morning is my favorite George Strait song. And, call me a softie, but I love Check Yes or No(video probably helped with that).
“Country music is the most American of musical idioms”
Actually, country music evolved from traditional Irish folk music, brought here by immigrants.
It did for me! That's the year I was born.
Anyway, pretty decent list here. No matter what 12 songs were picked, people will always argue over them.
Fortunately for country music, there are hundreds if not thousands of great songs to argue about.
“I Can’t Stop Loving You” - Ray Charles
"Amarillo By Morning" is the best country song I ever heard -- hands down.
Here's a variation of my personal Top 10 below -- with no artist listed more than once. This is based entirely on the number of plays that show up on my iPod for these songs!
1. "Amarillo By Morning" -- George Strait
2. "Fifty Years Ago" -- Ian Tyson (really a country/folk artist)
3. "Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses" -- Kathy Mattea
4. "Grandpa" -- The Judds
5. "Copperhead Road" -- Steve Earle (really a country/rock sound)
6. "You And Tequila" -- Kenny Chesney
7. "Fly Over States" -- Jason Aldean (I call this the "National Anthem for Trump Country")
8. "Alberta Bound" -- Paul Brandt
9. "Maybe It Was Memphis" -- Pam Tillis
10. "How I'll Always Be" -- Tim McGraw (he's a good artist with phenomenal musicians doing his studio tracks)
Some of those kind of cross between country and rock music. It’s a bit like the Marshall Tucker Band’s “Heard It In A Love Song” — it doesn’t seem like it fits in just one genre.
“Gentle On My Mind”
“Some Broken Hearts Never Mend” (Don Williams)
“24 Hours From Tulsa” (Gene Pitney)
...and I'm still trying to think of a second-greatest.
My favorite Don Williams song is “Old Coyote Town.” Hard to pick one from Glen Campbell ... maybe “Wichita Lineman”: it’s detailed, but opaque.
That is weird. Marty Robbins would sometimes sing it live saying, “big orange on his lip.”
Keith Whitley might have had the best country voice of anyone in my lifetime.
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